


charade

by AmandaBecker



Series: Christmas is coming [7]
Category: Sanditon (TV 2019), Sanditon - Jane Austen
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:33:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21924466
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmandaBecker/pseuds/AmandaBecker
Summary: Sidney hated game nights. Well, not necessarily hate, but he didn't like them much. Especially charades...But then came Miss Heywood.
Relationships: Charlotte Heywood & Sidney Parker, Charlotte Heywood/Sidney Parker
Series: Christmas is coming [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1571278
Comments: 6
Kudos: 50





	charade

**Author's Note:**

> This is a new one shot for the "12 days of Sanditon" Challenge by Sanditoncreative, Prompt: Games

Sidney hated game nights. Well, not necessarily hate, but he didn't like them much. Especially charades. But it was one of Mary's favourite games. First it was ladies against gentlemen. He and his brothers did pretty well this time and were up by two points. But then came Miss Heywood. She read her line, froze and blushed. Dropping her hand and seemed a little confused. What was she supposed to make of that?

Sidney was completely focused on Charlotte's face. A thousand emotions ran across her face. Apparently, it was a rather difficult concept to grasp. Just her blushing and her big eyes wandering uncertainly were fascinating. When their eyes met, she blushed even more and immediately let her gaze sink.

"Charlotte, are you ready?" Arthur asked and all eyes were on her. She nodded, despite the fact that the confusion was still on her face. Charlotte took a deep breath and began her gestures. She pointed at Mary and then at Tom.

"Marriage!" Cried Mary, but Charlotte shook her head.  
"Husbands and wives," cried Diana, but even that seemed wrong.  
Charlotte put her hand over her heart.  
"Heartache!" cried Mary.  
Again Miss Heywood shook her head and looked around seeking help and her heart made a leap as Sidney smiled at her. Her eyes locked for a moment. 

"Love!" 

Cried Arthur and everyone groaned as he stole the point from the ladies. Charlotte ducked her head and sat down embarrassed back in her seat. Her heart was pounding in her throat and she wished the evening were over. She fervently hoped that Arthur had only read it from her gestures and not in her face when she looked at Sidney. That would be too awkward.

The others seemed to be unaware of her inner turmoil, because they all behaved quite normally. 

At some point Tom pulled Mary to him, in the front of the fireplace and kissed her on the cheek and of course everyone shouted in confusion. 

"Married", "couple", "kiss"...  
"Love!" Cried Diana, but Arthur waved away and said softly to her,  
"...But that was when Miss Heywood looked at Sidney."  
"Oh, right." Diana smiled and glanced briefly at Charlotte.

But instead of blushing, Charlotte turned pale. Good Lord! She could hardly breathe, her chest seemed too tight. Everyone knew, everyone knew! Oh no, oh no, no, no! Now he knows too, now he probably knows too. Oh, no! She had to get out of here! Nervously, she was looking for a way out of the situation. She was feverishly trying to figure out what to do. It was actually too soon to disappear into her room, but she wished for nothing more.

Suddenly she felt him. He was standing behind the sofa. Behind Arthur. She didn't have to look to know that he was looking at her. The heat returned to her body. Charlotte could literally feel the blush running down her face and neck. Like warm water it washed away her inner cold and a small hot knot in her belly grew and grew. Her hands no longer trembled and a calm lay over her as if someone had put a warm, cuddly blanket over her. 

Feeling the need to turn to him, but she didn't dare.

"Shall we leave now?" Arthur asked Diana, who jumped up enthusiastically, shouting that she had been tired for hours.  
She kissed Mary on the cheek and then hugged Tom and Sidney. Finally she came to Charlotte, hugged her warmly, kissed her on the cheek and held her hands a moment longer than necessary. Charlotte was a little confused and it was written on her face. Diana wiped a small tear from her left eye and nodded to her before she left the room. 

Arthur then came up to her, took her hand, kissed it and squeezed it tight.  
"See you tomorrow, Miss Heywood."  
"See you tomorrow, Mr Parker."  
"Oh, I wish you'd call me Arthur at last!" He said conspiratorially in a low voice. Then he said goodbye to Tom and patted Sidney on the back.

After Mary had asked the others to play a little bit more and then she wanted to be on a team with her husband. Charlotte was forced to team up with Sidney. 

They were a good team and it wasn't embarrassing anymore in front of him. He guessed almost all their representations and she often understood after a moment what he wanted to tell her. As if she could see inside his head.

After Mary and Tom had said goodbye they stayed in the salon. Neither wanted to go upstairs and part with the other. They played a few rounds. Just the two of them.

At some point they ran out of terms and they had to use their imagination. Sidney then began to use words already played out. It was fun and Charlotte felt relaxed and like herself again for the first time in weeks around him. She laughed with him and at him. Until he made strange movements. Charlotte looked at him confused and tried to concentrate on what he was showing her.

Sidney pointed at himself and then at Charlotte. Nothing more.  
"Man and woman."   
He shook his head.  
"Acquaintances." She asked, but he shook his head again.

Again he pointed to himself, then to her. Charlotte narrowed her eyes in concentration.  
Again and again he made the same movement. Slowly a grin crept across his face. Then he imitated her movement from before and put a hand over his heart.  
Her breath stopped. What did that mean? Her eyes were huge and she couldn't see a grin on his face anymore. Sidney had become quite serious.  
What she thought he might mean, he couldn't really mean. So she asked him... 

"Friends."  
He nodded and shook his head. Apparently a similar word. He made a gesture with wide arms. That's what Tom had used earlier, it should mean more.  
"Many friends?"   
Head shaking.  
"More than friends!" She shouted and finally he nodded.

Strange. Somehow the feeling of disappointment was building up inside her. After all, she had used the gesture to represent love. She bit her lip and looked down at her lap. At that moment she knew she couldn't play another round with him and stood up. Charlotte was about to say something when he put a finger on her lips and shook his head. 

The tingling sensation flooded her body. Oh God! The feeling was overwhelming. Her heart was beating so loudly and a murmur sounded in her ears. She feared she would faint at any moment. Sidney smiled at her and made an encouraging gesture. Oh, he wanted her to not put what she was about to do into words but to show him.

She nodded and than curtsied. He stared at her like he didn't understand. She waved at him.  
"Get to know each other."   
Charlotte shook her head. She feinted a yawn.  
"Getting to know you is boring."   
She laughed and shook her head. Putting both hands together, she leaned her head at an angle as if she were asleep. He must have understood that now, she thought.  
"Ah, you're tired."   
She nodded and turned to walk as he grazed her arm briefly. At this sensation she stopped and looked at him with big eyes. He raised a finger.

"All right, Mr Parker," she giggled, "you'll get a last one, too."  
He smiled his enchanting smile and took a step towards her. Full of expectation she looked up at him. Sidney pursed his lips.  
"Sulking?"   
Shaking head.  
"You're not tired yet?" He nodded and made a sign that that was just part of the puzzle.

Sidney pursed his lips again and leaned closer. The heat crawled up her back and made her cheeks glow. But this could not be! Could it? That, that couldn't be. Charlotte shook her head slightly. Sidney nodded. A little smile twitched at the corner of her mouth. Disbelief was written all over her face.

"Really?" She breathed, as he got closer. 

A cheeky grin spread across his features as he nodded and pressed his lips to hers.

**Author's Note:**

> If I am not able to write tomorrow as well, I wish you all a very happy Christmas!


End file.
